The Easter holidays are approaching and the long weekend is the perfect time to try this recipe.
While most people will be making the traditional hot cross buns feel free to go against the trend by trying out some Easter biscuits instead. Famous chef and food writer Mary Berry has a special recipe that people have been trying out for years. The recipe takes less than 30 minutes to make which means you will be snacking on them in no time.
Here is how you can make Mary Berry’s Easter biscuits at home:
Ingredients
Biscuits
- 200g softened butter, plus extra for greasing
- 150g caster sugar
- 2 large free-range egg yolks
- 400g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- 1 level tsp ground mixed spice
- 1 level tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 to 4 tbsp milk
Icing
- 1 to 2 tsp lemon juice
- 250g/9oz icing sugar
- different food colourings
View this post on Instagram
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4. Lightly grease two baking trays lined with baking paper.
2. Measure the butter and sugar into a bowl and beat together until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolk. Sieve in the flour and spices and add enough milk to make a fairly soft dough. Bring together, using your hands, to make a soft dough.
3. Knead the biscuit dough lightly on a lightly floured work surface. Roll out to a thickness of five mm. Cut out Easter biscuits using an assortment of shaped cutters, such as bunnies, Easter eggs, chicks or spring flowers.
4. Lightly grease two baking trays lined with baking paper. Place the biscuit shapes on the prepared baking trays and bake in the preheated oven for 10–15 minutes. Remove from the oven and lift onto a wire rack to cool.
View this post on Instagram
5. To make the icing, pass one teaspoon of lemon juice through a fine sieve, to remove any pips or bits. Mix the icing sugar with the lemon juice and then add about two tablespoons of cold water, adding it little by little until you have a relatively stiff but smooth icing. Add a splash more sieved lemon juice if necessary.
6. Divide the icing into separate bowls and mix in food colourings of your choice into the separate bowls of icing, until you achieve the desired shade.
7. Spoon a little icing into a piping bag and pipe your decorations onto the biscuits. For a smooth finish, you can pipe the outline of your design in the firmer icing, then slacken it down a bit by mixing in a little more water, giving the icing more of a runny consistency, and use this to fill in the designs.
-Recipe adapted from the Daily Express
